Information about the Protect Our Jobs initiative

Greetings SSA members.Last spring a ballot initiative called Protect Our Jobs was launched with the intent to enshrine collective bargaining in the Michigan Constitution. Thus far, the initiative has successfully overcome every obstacle put in it's path to being on the November ballot, the most recent being a challenge in the Michigan Court of Appeals. Now it's going before the Michigan Supreme Court; if it remains upheld, it will be on the ballot come November. The Court's decision will be known next week.The right to unrestricted collective bargaining is essential to our well-being as association members, and the Protect Our Jobs initiative, if passed by Michigan voters in November, will not only ensure our ability to negotiate fair wages, benefits and working conditions with our employer now and in the future, unhindered by politically-driven restrictions mandated by the State, but would repeal those existing restrictions that have already impacted us. One of those restrictions, by far the most significant, is the state-mandated cap on the amount employers are legally able to pay towards the cost of employee health care.The SSA has joined Locals 1650 and 71 (Full-time faculty and Administrators, respectively) and the Adjunct Faculty Organization in an effort to propel this movement from initiative to reality. It is the first joint effort comprised of all four unions represented at Henry Ford Community College. However, to make this event meaningful, it will require effort on our part. We are asking all SSA members to step up and rise to this occasion.Over the coming weeks, there will be a number of opportunities to contribute. For the immediate time being, we await the Supreme Court's decision. The SSA asks all members to set aside the date of Saturday, September 15th and if at all possible to make yourselves available to help this coalition organize and mobilize on that date. All volunteers will be asked to meet at the DFT offices in Dearborn, near East Campus, to meet with Protect Our Jobs representatives.This movement is not to be taken lightly. Get involved. Your decision to contribute is likely the most important contribution to yourself, your families, and your brothers and sisters in every union across the state of Michigan that you will have a chance to make. On behalf of the SSA Executive Board and its trustees, the other locals at HFCC, and the Protect Our Jobs campaign, I thank you for your consideration. Stay tuned as information will be posted as it becomes available.